(NotReporting)

I would just like to know why we haven't been taught to be optimistic about our future careers.

We are bombarded with "the coming death of journalism" on a regular basis. In the news and in the classrooms. After a few months, we've learned, and the lack of our future comes up in casual conversation. The message is: Embrace change for the sake of change, or you won't make it in the last 40 years this industry has left.

Sometimes I feel starved. I am starved for adverbs and grammatically complex sentences. I am starved for working computers, breathing room and the promise of certainty — as opposed to the constant reminder that this trade is all about to disappear.

The way people talk at the non-journalism internship I took for the summer is itself satiating . The language they use to describe the future is so incredibly different than what I'm accustomed to.

"You'll have no trouble finding a job," is some of the highest praise I've received at the Missourian. Compare that to:
"You will have so many opportunities after this. This opens doors."

Really, the mentors are saying the same thing. Things will be easier if you work hard. But the language is different. It's taken a toll on me. My dreams are less lofty. Whenever I hear that someone has a newspaper job, regardless of where it is, I'm in awe.

Before I came here, if a former BigManPublisher had sat me down and told me that I was making a mistake, I would have asked for proof, justification and statements of his last newspaper's profits. This year, I just nodded and listened.

The way we talk about our future affects how we perceive it. And if students are told again and again that there just aren't the options there were, should we be surprised if many journalism careers end upon graduation?

I know we need to be strong and prepared for a smaller job market. I know we can't hide our heads in the sand. But I would like to say:

1. Do liberal arts colleges repeat constantly the difficulties of getting a job with a BA in reading?
2. Optimism breeds creativity which encourages innovation. Pessimism discourages it.

PROGRESS REPORT: A lot of phone calls. Few responses. I'm trying. I've asked for something else to work on so that I can do more than waiting to call again.